ANAHEIM, California—Arizona men’s basketball survived a late push from Boise State on Sunday afternoon to defeat the Broncos 68-59 in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy third place game.
Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen led the Wildcats with 13 points each as Arizona allowed a comfortable double-digit lead to shrink to a few possessions in the final minutes, only to put Boise State away at the end.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller said the Wildcats played their best defensive performance of the year, as they held the Broncos to just 40 percent from the field. Boise State’s Nick Duncan, who went off for 21 points in McKale Center last week, was held to 10 points Sunday.
“I think it says a lot to the commitment to that side of the ball,” Miller said. “On a night when you’re not perfect on offense, we had some guys really step up.”
It looked as if Arizona’s steady defensive effort would lead to an easy victory against the Broncos. Arizona held a 15-point advantage with five minutes remaining.
A double foul on Ryan Anderson, however, gave the senior five fouls, sending him to the bench. The forward received a technical after arguing with officials on a push-off call. Anderson joined Mark Tollefsen, who had fouled out moments before.
Already without Kaleb Tarczewski, who sat out Friday and Sunday’s games with a left ankle injury, the Wildcats were forced to play the game’s final minutes with only Dusan Ristic available down low.
Miller instead chose to deploy a five-guard lineup down the stretch with Trier, Allen, Gabe York, Elliott Pitts and Parker Jackson-Cartwright on the floor.
Boise State cut the lead to six points with 1:23 to go, but a Trier dunk and an Allen 3-pointer put Arizona back up by nine with 49 seconds left. The Broncos turned the ball over on the next possession, stealing the Wildcats’ victory.
“I give our team a lot of credit today,” Miller said. “Any time you’re in this type of tournament and you lose a hard-fought game like we did to Providence, a lot of times the next game you’re still dealing with the effects of the loss. Our guys did a great job putting that game behind us.”
James Webb III led Boise State with 17 points and 10 rebounds to post a double-double.
Arizona shot 49 percent from the field collectively, including 2-for-8 from outside. The Wildcats out-rebounded Boise State 34-28.
Five Wildcats scored in double digits Sunday, providing a needed balanced scoring attack with Tarczewski out.
“We’re used to having [Tarczewski] around,” Miller said. “To not have him in there, it’s just different. His size alone just dictates a lot of positive things for our team.”
Miller added that Tarczewski will receive an MRI when the team gets back to Tucson. As for a timetable on the center’s return, Miller said he expects Tarczewski to be back within the next week or two.
The Wildcats now have a few days off before they travel to Spokane, Washington, on Saturday to face Gonzaga in what should be a top 25 matchup.
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